Blean Woods takes part in the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS), which is run as a partnership between Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The scheme monitors the abundance and trends of butterflies throughout the UK via weekly ‘transects’.
A transect is a fixed route, split into sections, which is walked every week from 1st April to 30th September in suitable weather conditions: dry, with a minimum temperature of 13oC with at least 60% sunshine, or over 17oC if cloudy. The route is walked at a slow, steady pace and all butterflies seen within a fixed distance (2.5m either side, and 5m ahead) are recorded. Counts are ideally made between 10.45am and 3.45pm when butterfly activity should be at its highest.
A weekly recording sheet is used to note the date, time, temperature and windspeed, as well as the percentage of sunshine and the number of each species seen per section. A new online entry system has been set up for 2013, to enable the recorder to enter this information directly onto a UKBMS central database. At the end of the recording period, the data from over 1,000 sites, including 6 in the Blean Woods area, is used to compile an annual report. As butterflies are recognised as good environmental indicators, this data is also used for wider research, such as the assessment of site conditions and the impacts of climate change.
Further details about the scheme, including the annual reports, can be found at www.ukbms.org. At the moment there are not many butterflies around but I hope in future blog posts to report on their progress throughout the summer. Photos below are of the heath fritillary (left) and the ringlet, both taken in Church Wood in previous years.